The Runaway
by Alobear
Summary: Remember little Nefrayu from The Nox? Well, he's not so little any more, and he's got some ideas that don't quite fit with his parents' worldview. Jack and Daniel have to get involved, of course, and the consequences are... entertaining. Category: Slash Pairing: Jack/Daniel


The Runaway

by

Aloysius

Author's Note: I started writing this story sometime around 2004 before I dropped out of online fandom. Then, in 2013, I dropped back in and ended up pledging two stories for the Moonridge Auction. I dusted off what I had and committed to finishing it off, which proved a highly enjoyable experience.

So glad I finally finished this! Huge thanks to Alyjude for the motivation, the inspiration and the amazing beta feedback.

Category: Slash

Pairing: Jack/Daniel

Spoilers: References to The Nox and Singularity

"Unscheduled offworld activation!" The announcement echoed through the halls of the SGC, accompanied by flashing red lights and the familiar klaxon sound. Jack dropped the piece of pie he had been eating and leapt up from the table. There were no SG teams currently offworld, so it had to be something else. The possibilities ran through his mind as he hurried to the control room; it could be one of their allies, some kind of attack, or even just another race exploring as they did. Jack sometimes wondered about that last option – it was conceivable that it might happen, but the iris would always prevent such contact from being successful. He just hoped that, if anyone ever did try to explore to Earth, they would send some kind of probe through before attempting the journey themselves.

Jack met Teal'c coming from the other direction and they went the rest of the way together. Carter, Daniel and General Hammond had beaten them to it, but they made it in time to see the last chevron lock and hear a wormhole whoosh into existence behind the iris. The defence teams were in place, their guns trained on the top of the ramp. Now they would just have to wait and see if a recognisable code was sent through, or something else entirely. There was nothing really to say, so the flagship team of the SGC looked on in silence with their commander at their side. After a few moments of tense apprehension, however, the wormhole dissipated and the gate room was returned to its normal light levels.

"Well, that was an anti-climax," Jack remarked.

Daniel twisted round to look at him from where he was standing behind Sam. "Oh, you'd rather some unknown enemy had breached the iris and over-run the base, would you, Jack?" The smile in his eyes took the sting out of his words, and Jack grinned back at him.

"Well, no," he admitted. "But if I'm going to be dragged away from my pecan pie, I'd prefer there to be a good reason."

"Can't help you there, sir," Carter chipped in. "There were no transmissions, and nothing impacted on the iris. I'll do a full sweep of the gate room just in case, but I'd say the SGC is safe for democracy and dessert."

"Why, thank you, Carter," Jack replied with exaggerated sincerity. "It's good to know my pie has your blessing. Sir," he acknowledged Hammond and received a wave of dismissal before turning on his heel and heading back up the stairs.

"Keep me posted on anything you find, Major," Hammond instructed and then also left, going back to his office.

XXXXX

Daniel watched Jack disappear, then turned to Sam, interested in her evaluation of what had just happened. "Who do you think it was?" he asked her.

"There's no way to know where the wormhole originated from," she told him, clearly as intrigued as he was, "and we know it wasn't an SG team, because they're all on Earth. It seems unlikely that it was anyone trying to attack us, because nothing was sent through, and our allies all have ways to let us know it's them."

"I hope it was not someone in need of our assistance, who was unable to carry out their intention of contacting us," Teal'c said.

"Me, too, Teal'c," Sam gave her heartfelt agreement. "At least nothing impacted the iris – that would have been awful. It's definitely a puzzle but, unless whoever it was tries again, we'll probably never know the answer."

XXXXX

The room was harsh and alien, all hard edges and unalleviated grey. There were humans there, tense and alert with weapons at the ready, but they could see nothing of danger to them. Above, through a transparent barrier, were five more, all also looking intently at nothing. Among them was Colonel Jack O'Neill, though he looked older and his hair was a different colour.

The wormhole disengaged and the humans' supposedly impenetrable barrier slid gracefully open. At the same time, the atmosphere in the room relaxed, all the humans suddenly breathing more easily and dropping their guards. The ones with the weapons smiled resignedly at one another and trooped out through the heavy metal door.

Up in the observation area, Colonel Jack O'Neill finished speaking to his companions and started to leave. He made his way through the corridors of the underground facility, completely unaware that he was being watched.

XXXXX

By the time Jack got back to the commissary, the remains of his pie had been cleared away. He considered starting on a whole new piece, then glanced at his watch and decided against it. 1700 hours. The official end to the working day, though it rarely had any significance at the SGC, particularly where Daniel was concerned. However, today, Jack was determined to make his archaeologist leave the base at a reasonable hour.

They had arrived back from offworld late that morning, gone through the usual post-mission procedures and been dismissed by General Hammond. After several days on an alien planet, during which he and Daniel had kept strictly to their 'no sex offworld' policy, Jack had been more than ready to go straight home and start making up for lost time. Daniel, on the other hand, had had other ideas and had insisted on staying at the mountain for a few hours to work on some incomprehensible text or other that Jack could care less about. Resigning himself to the inevitable, Jack had declined the opportunity for a blazing row and retreated to his office in silent frustration to catch up on some paperwork.

Now, though, several reports, half a piece of pie and a non-event of an offworld activation later, he had had enough. Turning on his heel, Jack left the commissary once again and made his way to Daniel's office where, unsurprisingly, he found his archaeologist back at work.

Walking silently up behind the younger man, Jack reached over his shoulders and clapped shut the book Daniel had been reading. Daniel jumped in surprise, then grabbed Jack's arms and hugged them to his chest. He had long ago insisted that the security cameras be removed from his office, claiming that he found the feeling of being watched distracting, so they were safe from prying eyes.

"Hey," he said seductively. "You finished dessert already?"

Jack grinned. "I decided pie wasn't what I was hungry for…"

"I was wondering how long it would be before you turned up to drag me home," Daniel replied.

"You mean you've been waiting for me all this time?" Jack reclaimed one arm and tapped Daniel lightly on the top of his head. "And here was I thinking I had a pitched battle ahead of me. You are such a tease! Now grab your jacket and let's go before somebody rings the doorbell and runs away again."

Daniel carefully closed a couple more books and then got up to follow Jack to the door. "Yeah, that was pretty strange, wasn't it?"

"Nobody attacked and nobody went splat, so who cares?" Jack's mind was on other things.

XXXXX

Colonel Jack O'Neill was now with another human, the one known as Dr Daniel Jackson. This one also looked different, in that his hair was shorter and his body more muscled. The two men travelled up to the surface of the planet in a metal box, standing close together and talking softly to one another. Once outside, they climbed into a strange contraption of metal and rubber, which seemed to serve as a transport device of some kind, and Colonel Jack O'Neill then instructed it to carry them away from the mountain.

After some time travelling, the vehicle arrived at one of many structures all lined up next to each other, and the two men got out. They went inside the structure together, completely unaware that they had been followed.

XXXXX

As soon as they were inside, Daniel grabbed Jack, spun him round and pinned him up against the door. Pressing his lips against Jack's, he forced his tongue inside Jack's mouth and claimed a long, passionate kiss. Jack's arms immediately came up and snaked around his back, clutching him tightly as their groins clashed urgently together.

When they finally came up for air, Jack said breathlessly, "Not wasting any time on pleasantries, I see?"

Daniel leered at him unashamedly. "Do you have any idea how frustrating it is sharing a tent with you for three days and not being able to fuck you?"

"Ooh, Daniel," Jack teased back. "What happened to my sweet and polite archaeologist?"

"He's horny," Daniel replied. "Studies show that in advanced civilisations, politeness is the first thing to go in the face of sexual deprivation. Now shut up and follow me." With that, he took hold of Jack's hand and dragged him unceremoniously to the bedroom.

Within a few moments, there were clothes scattered haphazardly all over the room and Daniel had Jack pinned again, this time to the bed. Jack grinned up at his lover in anticipation; he loved it when Daniel got feisty.

"Let's get straight down to business, shall we?" Daniel suggested and reached over towards the night-stand for the lube.

At that moment, Jack caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye.

"Holy crap!" he exclaimed, shooting upright and causing Daniel to topple right off the bed with a startled cry.

"Ow!" One hand clutching his head where it had connected with the bedframe, Daniel glanced up irritably from his position on the floor. "Nice, Jack! Some kind of new foreplay you read about in GQ?" he barked at his lover, who was staring, open-mouthed, at the wall.

"It was…. I saw…. There was…." Jack spluttered, eyes wide and one hand pointing at nothing.

Alarmed, Daniel scrambled to his knees and looked in the direction Jack was indicating.

"Jack?" he asked more softly. "What is it?"

Shaking his head, Jack swallowed and turned his gaze to Daniel. "When you leaned over, I swear I saw someone standing at the foot of the bed," he explained. "He looked at me for a second and then walked right through the wall. Daniel, I think it was Nefrayu!"

There was a brief pause while Daniel evidently tried to assimilate this bizarre information, then his eyes narrowed.

"Nefrayu." The scepticism was clear in Daniel's tone. "You saw a Nox child standing in our bedroom."

"It's been three years, Daniel – he's not a child any more, but, well – yeah!"

Daniel raised one eyebrow elaborately.

"I'm telling you, I saw Nefrayu!" Jack maintained, a little hurt that Daniel would doubt him. Why on earth would he make up something like that?

But Daniel remained unconvinced, crossing his arms over his bare chest in a gesture that instantly closed him off from their previous intimacy. "Oh, come on, Jack!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "If there's some reason why you don't want to have sex with me, just say so!"

Jack opened his mouth to respond, but the sudden ringing of the telephone forestalled him. He waved one finger in Daniel's face and said, "Hold that thought – or rather, don't hold that thought, because it's ridiculous! I'll be right back…" Then, he scrambled out of the bed and past Daniel to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Colonel O'Neill?" It was General Hammond.

"Yes, sir."

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Colonel, but I need you to report back to the SGC immediately."

"Yes, sir. May I ask what's going on?" Jack, suddenly very aware of the fact that he wasn't wearing any clothes, grabbed a pillow from the bed and used it to cover his crotch. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"It's too complicated to explain over the phone, Colonel," the general replied. "Just get here as quickly as you can. I've still got to call Major Carter and Dr Jackson."

"Uh, actually Daniel and I were just getting down to eating something here, sir." Daniel gasped at this, his eyes wide with shock, as Jack grinned smugly and bounced his eyebrows at him. "We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Very well," Hammond agreed. "I'll see you both shortly."

Jack put the phone down and turned back to Daniel, who was clearly not amused.

"That wasn't funny, Jack," he stated, hands on his hips.

"Um, yes it was, Daniel," Jack replied, still grinning as he strutted around collecting up his shirt and pants.

Giving up and changing the subject, Daniel asked, "What's going on at the base?" Then he added cheekily, "Are the Nox popping up all over the SGC, too? Or perhaps the Tollan have suddenly started walking through the walls of Hammond's office?"

"Very droll," Jack retorted. "Hammond wouldn't explain, but it sounds like there's some kind of situation at the mountain. He wants us back there right away."

The two men threw their clothes back on and headed out the door to Jack's truck. Jack sighed internally as he backed the vehicle into the street. It looked like their enforced celibacy was going to have to last a little longer.

XXXXX

When Jack and Daniel reached the briefing room deep inside Cheyenne Mountain, the sight that greeted them was one that neither of them would ever have predicted. Sitting, stern-faced and silent around the table with Sam, Teal'c and General Hammond, were Omoc of the Tollan and, even more surprisingly, Lya and Antaeus of the Nox.

It seemed the Nox really *were* popping up all over the SGC. And presumably the Tollan *had* at least walked through the iris to get there.

As the two late arrivals took their places, Jack pinned Daniel with an I-told-you-so stare, and Daniel winced a silent apology in return. Then, before anyone else had a chance to speak, Jack looked down the line of visitors and said in a neutral tone, "You've come looking for Nefrayu, haven't you?"

At his words, open surprise registered on Lya's delicate features, while Antaeus looked back at him impassively, and Omoc's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"How could you know this?" the cagey Tollan man demanded, but Antaeus held out one hand to silence him, keeping his gaze locked on Jack.

"He has revealed himself to you." It wasn't a question, and Jack felt as if Antaeus' ancient and enigmatic eyes could see right through him and into his very soul. He could sense General Hammond shifting in his seat to his left, and he knew his commanding officer was trying to figure out how to ask for an explanation without appearing rude to their guests.

Lya, ever the expert at gauging tricky situations, solved the problem for him. She laid one slender hand on Antaeus' arm and interjected softly, "Perhaps we should make our purpose here known to all before we hear what Colonel O'Neill has to say." She then turned to address Hammond, her expression more anxious than Jack had ever seen it. "Forgive us," she requested. "Our concern for the young one causes us to forget our manners."

At this reference to Nefrayu, Jack thought he heard a small contemptuous snort from Omoc, but any feelings induced in him by Lya's words were quickly wrestled under control and his features remained neutral.

Hammond spread his hands expansively and encouraged, "Please, continue."

It was Antaeus who began the explanation and Jack could have sworn he looked almost sheepish as he spoke. "Nefrayu has been voicing many questions and displaying much dissatisfaction with our way of life of late, and it is with regret that I admit we did little to address the situation. We believed it to be much less serious that it has turned out." Lya's grip on his arm tightened briefly in a show of support, and Antaeus went on. "The young one has reached the age at which he feels it necessary to test the boundaries of his known existence, and explore what the universe has to offer. Despite our attitude of non-interference with other races, we actively encourage the pursuit of knowledge and we hoped to teach Nefrayu the greater complexities of our ways in order for him to take up his place as an adult among the Nox. However, it seems he had other ideas about his own development and has taken his fate in his own hands without our guidance or permission."

It was at this point that Omoc evidently lost his patience and broke in. "With all due respect, Antaeus, you waste valuable time with unnecessary analysis. The boy stole a piece of Tollan technology and ran away. For some reason he has chosen this planet as his destination."

Since this was not really news to Jack, he had the opportunity to watch the reactions of his friends. Teal'c's eyebrows had been trekking steadily northwards throughout the entire exchange. Carter's mouth remained open as her gaze shifted from speaker to speaker. General Hammond looked decidedly uncomfortable and somewhat irritated that a child had penetrated the SGC's defences. And, next to him, Daniel's face was in his hands, turning seven shades of red as he probably wondered exactly what Nefrayu had witnessed at the foot of their bed less than an hour before.

"That explains the gate activation anomaly earlier," Sam offered, a bit late. "Nefrayu must have used the Tollan device to penetrate the iris, while shielding himself with his own abilities."

Lya inclined her head, before looking once more at Jack. "Nefrayu remembers your visit to our world and sees Earth as a source of great interest and divergence from the Nox. I believe he has come here seeking answers to questions we are unable to address to his satisfaction. Perhaps now you could tell us what you know of his presence here."

"I'd like to know that myself, Colonel." General Hammond swivelled to glower at his second in command.

Jack cleared his throat. Glancing briefly at Daniel, who was conveniently studying the hem of his shirt, he summoned up his explanation. "It happened a few moments before your call, sir. One minute there was nothing and then, suddenly, Nefrayu was just standing there. Obviously, seeing him took me by surprise and I, uh, may have exclaimed rather strongly. He just turned away and walked right through the wall."

"Why on earth didn't you mention this when I called, Colonel?" Hammond wanted to know.

"I honestly didn't believe what I saw, sir," Jack admitted. "I mean, he was only there for a second and it was so bizarre I just figured I'd imagined it."

"And, Dr Jackson – you didn't see anything?" the general asked.

Daniel looked up from his shirt. "Uh, no, sir, I didn't." Jack wondered if anyone else had noticed Daniel's uncharacteristic reticence.

"So, what do we do?" As always, Sam focused in on the practicalities. "If he can walk through walls and make himself invisible, he could be literally anywhere."

"He is still very young and this is the first time he has travelled from the Nox world alone," Lya said, her concern for Nefrayu's welfare clear in her tone. "I do not think he would stray too far from those with whom he is familiar. It could be that he has followed Colonel O'Neill back here to your mountain, or that he remains at the Colonel's dwelling, awaiting another opportunity to show himself."

Omoc lifted his hands from his lap to reveal a small metal sphere which was circled by flashing lights. "In the event that the boy is within this facility, we are jamming the device he has stolen so that he will not be able to leave undetected."

"We came to you openly as a show of respect," Antaeus offered. "Will you allow us to search for him here? Lya and I will be able to find Nefrayu even if he is hidden."

"Of course," Hammond agreed. "Major Carter and Teal'c can escort you round the base, sealing it off as you go so that you can conduct a thorough search."

"And I should head back to my place, in case he makes another appearance there," Jack suggested.

"I'll go with Jack," Daniel said. "That way, there'll be two of us he knows and Jack will have some back-up if things get tricky." He turned to address the Omoc. "Do you have another of those jamming devices?"

Omoc silently handed one over and Daniel secreted it in one of his jacket pockets.

"Okay, people, let's find this runaway," Hammond declared, effectively breaking up the meeting and sending everyone on their way.

XXXXX

Once Daniel had climbed into the truck next to him, Jack turned and looked at him expectantly. Daniel looked right back, clearly confused by the fact that they weren't going anywhere, but just as clearly not about to ask why.

Eventually, Jack said pointedly, "I'm waiting…"

There was a brief pause, then Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose with the fingers of one hand and muttered, "I'm sorry."

"For…?" Jack prompted relentlessly.

"For not believing you when you said there was an alien in our bedroom, okay?"

Jack smirked his satisfaction. Daniel met Jack's eyes again, his own flashing a challenge. "In spite of your decidedly far-fetched claim, I shouldn't have doubted you. Can we go now?"

Completely vindicated, Jack's grin just grew wider as he turned the key in the ignition. They headed back down the mountain for the second time that day.

After a few moments, Daniel evidently couldn't resist breaking the silence to bring up the events of the meeting. "I can't believe Nefrayu actually stole from the Tollans and ran away!" he exclaimed.

"Doesn't surprise me in the least," Jack remarked. Daniel turned to stare at him in astonishment. "You've got to admit the parenting skills of the Nox are pretty abysmal."

"What do you mean?"

"Think back to when we first met them. They think of us as 'very young', and remember how badly they dealt with us. I mean, when they finally showed us that flying city, you said we should have trusted them when they said they could take care of themselves, but they never gave us any reason to." Jack glanced away from the road for a moment to see that Daniel was listening intently to his words. "They just kept saying 'this is our way' without explaining anything, and what response did that get from us?"

Realisation dawned on Daniel and he said eagerly, "We didn't listen to them and instead did the opposite of what they told us to do."

"Exactly!" Jack smiled at Daniel's comprehension. "Telling kids what to do without explaining why just makes them want to see what happens when they disobey. Most adults don't understand that kids respond best to being treated like they're adults too. If you can make them see the logic behind the rules, they'll be much more likely to follow them. Antaeus said it himself – Nefrayu's reached the age when he's started thinking for himself, and he's not getting any answers at home, so he's come looking for them elsewhere."

"And he got rather more than he bargained for when he turned up at your place earlier," Daniel reminded Jack, who cleared his throat uncomfortably at the words.

"Uh, yeah," he murmured, casting a sideways glance at Daniel. "Let's just hope we find him before the others do."

"And what are we going to say to him, Jack?" Daniel wanted to know. "'Stealing is wrong and honesty is the best policy but, having said that, please don't tell anyone you saw us having sex?' What kind of parenting is that?"

"Having sex?" Jack's tone took on a hint of bitterness. "Chance'd be a fine thing!"

Daniel exhaled exasperatedly. "Jack, focus on what's important here for a minute, will you? The fate of both our careers rests in the hands of an adolescent alien!"

"Who should be in the perfect position to understand our situation once we explain it to him," Jack pointed out. "Teenagers being perpetually horny and all."

"So, we're not going for good parents, but rather partners in crime?" Daniel shook his head in disbelief. "I always wondered why the need for secrecy in our relationship doesn't seem to bother you." He smiled indulgently across at his lover. "You're still a rebellious teenager at heart, aren't you?"

Jack grinned back. "Not just at heart, Danny-boy. The body's not far off, either, you know!"

Daniel did his best to suppress a snort of laughter and Jack's grin turned instantly into a glare.

Some time later, they pulled up at Jack's house once again and made their way inside. Jack went quickly through all the rooms, calling out, "Oh, Nefrayu! Come out, come out wherever you are!" But there was no response.

The two men eventually stood facing each other in the den of the apparently empty house.

"Looks like he's not here," Jack said unnecessarily.

"Well," Daniel began, licking his lips. "There's nothing else we can do but wait until we hear from General Hammond." He took two slow steps towards Jack, lowering his head and looking up at him through his eyelashes. "I guess we'll have to find something to do to pass the time…"

"Uh, Daniel…" Jack seemed uncertain. "Do you really think that's such a good idea?"

"I want to test out that claim you made in the truck on the way home," Daniel responded, apparently undeterred by Jack's uncharacteristic prudence. Stepping right in front of Jack, he grabbed the older man's arms and manoeuvred him bodily towards the couch. Pushing him down onto the cushions, Daniel straddled Jack's legs and squeezed his torso with his knees. Jack opened his mouth to protest but Daniel stopped him with a firm and passionate kiss, his fingers reaching unerringly for the buttons of Jack's shirt. Once he had undone a few of them, he moved down to caress the newly exposed skin of Jack's throat with his lips.

Jack tilted his head back to grant Daniel better access, and that was when their uninvited guest made his second appearance. Catching sight of Nefrayu once again watching them, this time with a cheeky grin on his face, Jack exclaimed, "Dammit, Nefrayu!" and pushed Daniel away. This time, Daniel was slightly better prepared and he rolled aside to land comfortably on the couch next to Jack.

Nefrayu looked down at them, then turned and started moving towards one of the outside walls, but Daniel had other ideas.

"Oh, no you don't!" he growled, reaching into his pocket and switching on the jamming device hidden there.

Nefrayu reached the edge of the room, stretched out his hand to push through, and was brought up short when he encountered solid wall. Startled, he spun round, his eyes seeking out the door, but Jack had pre-empted him and was now blocking his escape route.

"Joyride's over," Jack said gently. "Time to stop messing about and try talking to us."

Rolling his eyes in resignation, the young alien sat down in an armchair. He still had long, wild hair, entwined with coloured thread and bits of twigs, and he was clothed in the familiar pastel shades of the Nox, but he had grown from the slightly pudgy child they had first met into a lanky teenager.

Relieved to have the situation slightly more under control, Jack took out his cell phone and dialled the SGC. As soon as he got through to General Hammond, he said simply, "We've got him, sir." Holding Nefrayu's defiant gaze, Jack listened while the general reacted to the news by ordering them all back to the mountain. Then he continued, "I'm not sure that's such a good idea, sir. I think Daniel and I should have a chat with him first." Hammond acquiesced and cut the connection.

Flipping the phone shut, Jack crossed over to rejoin Daniel on the couch. "Well, I've just bought you some time," he told their guest. "Now, tell me why we shouldn't just haul your ass back to the SGC and hand you over to Antaeus and Lya."

Nefrayu paled visibly and said, "They're here?"

"Oh, yeah," Jack confirmed. "The Tollan, Omoc, too – and he's seriously pissed at you, my boy." Nefrayu hung his head and wrung his hands at the words.

Daniel leaned forwards, resting his forearms on his knees. "Why did you steal the Tollan device, Nefrayu?" he asked gently.

"Because it was the only way I could get through your shield," Nefrayu replied. "I was so sick of sitting around doing nothing. I remembered that you were so intent on taking action when you came to my world that you fashioned new weapons when we took yours away from you. I wanted to see what it was like where you came from and to meet more people like you. I wanted to find out what the rest of my people had shut themselves away from. So, I came here and followed you home." He finally looked up, a small smile playing across his features. "I didn't know the two of you were joined…"

Daniel suddenly seemed to find his fingernails intensely interesting, once again leaving Jack to address the situation.

"Yeah, about that," Jack began. "We'd really appreciate it if you didn't mention our, um, 'joining' to anyone else."

"Why?" Nefrayu's eyes were wide and his tone was sincerely surprised.

"Well, uh…" Jack faltered and looked to Daniel for help.

Ever the anthropologist, Daniel at last stepped into the breach with a culture comparison. "You know how the Nox have a non-interference policy that says you shouldn't get involved in the affairs of other races?" Nefrayu nodded, obviously fully familiar with that particular set of rules, which was presumably why Daniel had chosen them as his example. "Well, here on Earth, there are rules that say Jack and I aren't allowed to have a relationship, because it might interfere with the work we do. Like you, we don't necessarily agree with all the rules of our society, but we would get into trouble if our superiors found out we're breaking them."

"Just like you're going to be in trouble when we take you back," Jack pointed out helpfully.

At this, Nefrayu's expression hardened again. "You're just going to send me home?"

"I'm afraid it's not up to us," Daniel said reasonably. "We can't let you just wander round on Earth, and you know we wouldn't be able to hide you from Lya and Antaeus. We have to take you back to the SGC. I'm sure the other Nox will be willing to talk about your problems with you."

"But the Tollans will punish me!" Teenage petulance was clearly universal.

"Probably," Jack conceded. "But you did steal from them, Nefrayu. You've got to learn to face up to the consequences of your actions."

Nefrayu's eyes lit up with a sudden idea. "How about we strike a bargain?" he suggested. "You help me get out of trouble with the Tollans, and I won't tell anyone your secret…"

Teenage cunning. Another universal constant apparently, and a damned inconvenient one at that.

"He's got us over a barrel there," Daniel murmured.

Jack fixed him with a withering glare before he took a deep breath and tried logic again. "Nefrayu, you just can't keep on racking up the offences, you know. That's not the way to face up to any problems you encounter in your life. You can't add blackmail to theft and absconding and expect it to come out right. That's not the way it works. You have to try and put things right again, and part of that is taking any reasonable punishment on the chin. You don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

Nefrayu's face settled back into a mulish expression.

"I don't want to go back yet and I don't want to be punished either. I don't see why I *should* be punished just for wanting to see something more of life than my planet. Nobody punishes *you* just for being interested in things."

Daniel looked back over at Jack, clearly interested in how he would respond to this new argument. Jack sighed, battling to keep his temper in the face of Nefrayu's reasoned defiance.

"But that's different and deep down you know it, Nefrayu. We're adults, and you've still got some growing to do. Children have to understand that there are rules in place for their protection, no matter -"

"But that's not *fair*," Nefrayu protested.

"Don't interrupt your elders, Nefrayu, it's rude. As I was saying…"

"I'm *not* a child. You sound just like Lya and Antaeus…"

"As I was *saying*," Jack repeated heavily, "we don't allow anyone to do what we do *until* they've had the proper experience and training. We don't just go off on joyrides, you know. The universe is a dangerous place…"

Nefrayu crossed his arms across his chest as 'mulish' shaded into downright mutiny.

"I'm not going back yet and you can't make me. Nobody can make me."

"Now, see, there you go again with that interrupting thing," Jack admonished. "You're going to have to work on that before you can convince anyone that…"

"Can't we just strike a bargain and be done with it?" Nefrayu wheedled. "It'd work out fine. Maybe I could stay here with you."

Jack said gently, "Now you know that wouldn't work out at all. Daniel and me – well, we have work to do. And no leave due yet awhile. We sometimes have to just up and leave at very short notice."

"Well that's all right, I could just wait here until you got back." Nefrayu looked at them both hopefully.

"We can't leave you here unattended," Daniel put in. "And your… parents don't really approve of us either, you know. They've told us that they think we're very young too. I don't think they would consider us fit guardians, even temporarily."

Nefrayu glared at them. "I can just disappear, you know," he said. "You might be able to stop me walking through the walls, but you can't make me go back if you can't find me."

Jack exchanged a look with Daniel, feeling as if the situation was rapidly spiralling out of their control. The fact that Nefrayu had just threatened them with turning invisible, rather than actually doing it and running off, was encouraging, though. That, and his following them to the house in the first place suggested he might not be as keen to be out in the world on his own as he was trying to make out.

"How about this?" Jack began, hoping some negotiation might help matters. "You come back to the mountain with us - " He broke off and held up a finger as Nefrayu started to protest again. "Now, just hear me out! As Daniel's already pointed out, we can't just leave you here on your own, and everyone's expecting us back at the SGC any time now, so our options are limited. If you come back with us, I promise we won't just hand you over to the Tollans. You can hang out somewhere on the base, and Daniel and I will go and talk to the others about what to do. We'll do our best to argue your case, and see if we can get them to cut you some slack."

Nefrayu's shoulders slumped. "I suppose I don't have much choice," he said, resignedly.

"No, you don't," Jack said, firmly. "You've got to face the music some time, and you might as well take advantage of having me and Daniel in your corner. Deal?"

"Yes," was the short answer, though Nefrayu didn't look very happy about it.

So, they all piled into Jack's truck and made their way back up to the SGC.

XXXXX

Instead of going straight to the conference room when they arrived, they made a detour to the infirmary. Janet was there, as Jack had hoped she would be, and he shepherded Nefrayu over to her.

"Hey, doc," he said. "Could you do me a favour and keep an eye on this young man while Daniel and I go and decide his fate?"

Janet smiled warmly at Nefrayu, who looked less than impressed with being assigned a baby-sitter. "Of course, Colonel, I'd be happy to."

Jack turned to Nefrayu and spoke sternly to him. "Now, I'm expecting you to behave yourself while we're gone. Don't give the doc any trouble, and don't go disappearing. You know Lya and Antaeus can find you, even if you're invisible. You'll only be making things worse if you wander off." He had a sudden thought. "Give me the Tollan device you took," he said. "It'll be a show of good faith."

Nefrayu looked sullen, but he handed the device over to Jack and went to sit down on one of the infirmary chairs.

"Thanks, Janet," Daniel said, shrugging an apology.

She smiled. "Don't worry about it. I've got a moody teenager of my own at home, remember. I'm used to it."

When they got back to the briefing room, everyone was seated in the exact same positions as before, almost as if they hadn't moved in all the time Jack and Daniel had been gone.

General Hammond stood up as they entered.

"Colonel, where is Nefrayu?" he demanded, as soon as he noticed the youngster wasn't with them.

"Don't worry, General, he's on the base," Jack said. "And he gave this back." He tossed the Tollan device to Omoc, who caught it deftly and immediately put it away in his pocket. He didn't look mollified, however.

"But why did you not bring the young one to us?" Antaeus asked, his expression stern.

"Now, here's the thing," Jack began, avoiding General Hammond's eye as he spoke. "Nefrayu knows what he's done is wrong, and that he'll be punished in some way for it. He's prepared for that, but he still wants to explore a bit before he gets dragged home, and I'm inclined to suggest that it might not be a bad idea to let him."

"That is not your decision to make," Antaeus said.

Daniel held up his hands in a placating gesture. "We absolutely realise that, and we ensured Nefrayu came back with us, in case we were unable to persuade you to let him stay a while."

"And how were you intending to persuade us?" Lya asked, sounding intrigued rather than annoyed.

"Well, you said yourself that he's been giving you trouble lately," Jack said. He smiled wryly at Antaeus. "As we all know, the very young do not always do as they are told." Antaeus inclined his head in acknowledgement of the Nox words being echoed back to him. "And we thought that maybe the best way to solve that would be to give him some freedom. Supervised, of course – we can't let him go running around on Earth by himself. But we'd be happy to chaperone him for a bit, and maybe show him that your way of doing things isn't so bad after all." He gave Antaeus a wry smile. "Trust me, a couple of days on Earth and he'll be begging to come home."

Antaeus exchanged a long glance with Lya, and Jack got the distinct impression that there was a lot more passing between them than it seemed. Eventually, Antaeus turned to General Hammond and inclined his head.

"If you would be willing to agree to this, General, we think it may prove beneficial to Nefrayu to experience more of human ways." He grimaced, as if what he was saying was unpalatable. "Colonel O'Neill is correct that taking him home now will not change things for the better. In fact, it would most likely make them worse."

Omoc looked incredulous. "You are seriously going to allow the boy to remain and explore as he wanted to? What about the violation of Tollan trust and security that he perpetrated? Is he to be rewarded for his criminal actions?"

"No," Lya said, her meaning firm beneath her soft tone. "Nefrayu will have to answer for his actions when he is returned to us. You have our word. But, now that he is here, I agree that it would be better for him to discover for himself that things on Earth are not as appealing as he seems to believe." She swept her gaze around the table. "I mean no offence, of course."

"None taken," General Hammond said, graciously. "And we would be glad to play host to Nefrayu for a few days," he continued, though the glare he threw in Jack's direction suggested he wasn't being entirely honest about that. "I am making him your responsibility, though, Colonel. It will be up to you to maintain the security of the Stargate programme and ensure that no harm comes to the boy while he is here. I'll put SG-1 on stand-down for the duration of his stay, and he will be in your care."

"Yes, sir," Jack said, and he couldn't help throwing a triumphant grin at Daniel, who looked back rather apprehensively.

Omoc snarled in distaste and stood up. "It seems nothing remains for me to do here," he said. "Now that I have recovered our property, I shall return to Tollana."

Without another word, he strode out in the direction of the gate room.

General Hammond regarded Lya and Antaeus. "The two of you would be more than welcome to stay."

The exchanged another deep look, then Lya smiled and spread her hands. "Thank you, General, but no. We also shall return home and allow Nefrayu to discover his path alone." Her intense gaze came to rest on Daniel. "We trust you to protect and teach him. We shall come to collect him in two of your Earth days."

General Hammond escorted the Nox out, leaving SG-1 alone in the briefing room.

"Well, Daniel," Jack said. "Hammond may have put me in charge of this little operation, but it seems the Nox think you're the only one responsible enough to be Nefrayu's baby-sitter."

Daniel's eyes flashed as he picked up on Jack's meaning immediately. "I guess I'll be staying with you for a few days, then," he said, nonchalantly.

"What do you want me and Teal'c to do, sir?" Sam asked.

Jack waved a hand at her dismissively. "Oh, I think Daniel and I have this covered, Major," he said. "Why don't you and Teal'c have some much deserved leave? We'll give you a call if we need you for anything."

Sam gave him a bright smile. "Thank you, sir. And good luck!"

XXXXX

Nefrayu was seated at a computer terminal when Jack and Daniel entered the infirmary, but he jumped up as soon as he saw them, his expression a mixture of hope and apprehension.

Jack kept a straight face as he crossed the room, and directed his attention at Janet.

"Any trouble?" he asked.

"None," she replied with a smile. "I showed him how to use the historical and cultural database on the computer and I haven't heard a peep out of him since. I wish I could get Cassie to concentrate on her homework like that!"

"Well?" Nefrayu demanded, unable to keep silent any longer. "What did they say?"

"You're still in major trouble," Jack told him, "and I don't fancy your chances when Omoc gets his hands on you."

Nefrayu's face fell.

"But," Jack continued, feeling his face start to split into a grin, "you've got two days on Earth with us before you have to go home and take your lumps."

Nefrayu looked incredulous. "Really? I can stay?"

"Two days," Daniel re-iterated. "And you have to stay with me or Jack the whole time."

Jack immediately saw a flaw in this plan. If they couldn't let Nefrayu out of their sight for the next two days, authorised shore leave with Daniel staying at his place wasn't going to be as much fun as he had anticipated. Janet's mention of Cassie gave him an idea, though.

"Hey, doc," he said. "Do you think Cassie might be willing to help us show Nefrayu around? I mean, she's the only other kid on Earth who knows what it's like to come here from another planet."

Janet nodded. "I don't see why not. She still has to be so careful with her friends – it would be good for her to spend some time with someone her own age and not have to watch everything she says." She looked Nefrayu up and down. "If you're going out in the world, though, we'll need to do something about your hair and clothes."

Nefrayu reached up to finger his unruly locks. "My hair?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yep," Jack confirmed. "You can't wander round Earth looking like that. You're going to need to blend in a bit more."

Nefrayu stared at him. "Like yours?"

Jack ran his hands through his cropped hair and considered. "We probably don't need to go that far. Enough kids have long hair these days that you won't look too out of place, but it'll need to be tidied up a bit."

"No," Nefrayu said, and Jack prepared himself for yet another argument. The teenager took him completely by surprise, though. "I want my hair to be like yours," he finished.

Jack glanced at Daniel, to find him smirking behind his hand.

"Okay, then," he said. "Doc, can we leave you in charge of the makeover?"

"Sure thing, Colonel," Janet agreed. "Come along, young man, and we'll see what we can do." She turned back to Jack. "I'll bring him up to the briefing room when I'm done. It shouldn't take too long, and then we work out when would be best to introduce him to Cassie."

Jack and Daniel made their way back to the briefing room again, and sat down.

"Well, that went better than we thought," Daniel said.

"Yeah," Jack agreed. "But now we've got to entertain an alien kid for two days. What the hell are we going to do with him?"

Daniel glanced at his watch. "It's getting on for nine o'clock, so I would suggest, home, dinner and bed for tonight. We can worry about tomorrow when it happens."

In much less time than Jack had anticipated, Janet appeared, with a very different Nefrayu in tow. His hair had been almost completely shorn, and he now sported a buzz cut that would have made a marine proud. He was wearing black sneakers, khaki BDU pants, a Colorado Gold Kings sweatshirt, and looked the picture of a typical American teenager.

"Dig the outfit, kiddo," Jack commented, walking up to the boy and raising a hand for a high five. He heard Daniel snort behind him, and realised that, of course, Nefrayu would have no idea how to respond.

"I feel very strange," Nefrayu said, unconsciously rubbing the newly exposed back of his neck.

"Well, you look great," Jack said. "Nice job, doc."

"Thanks, Colonel," Janet replied. "I just hope his parents don't freak out when they see him. I'm guessing you'll be taking him home with you now, but why don't the four of us and Cassie meet for lunch at The Mason Jar tomorrow – say, one o'clock?"

"Good plan," Jack agreed. "We'll see you there. And thanks again."

XXXXX

As Jack drove down from the mountain for the third time in four hours, he glanced in the rear view mirror to see Nefrayu staring avidly out of the window.

"Didn't you see everything there was to see earlier?" he asked.

"Not really," came the reply. "The first trip, I was concentrating on staying concealed, and then I was too scared about what would happen to pay much attention on the second." He looked up to meet Jack's gaze in the mirror, pouting slightly. "And now it's dark."

Daniel chuckled. "We've got two whole days for you to see everything, Nefrayu," he said. "Don't worry, you'll be sick of Colorado long before then."

It was getting pretty late by the time they pulled into Jack's driveway, but Jack quickly realised he'd have to go straight back out again.

"Daniel, you get started on dinner," he said as they entered the house. "I'll run out and get something for Nefrayu to drink. All we've got is coffee and beer, and I'm not irresponsible enough to feed him either of those."

"Get some snacks, as well," Daniel suggested. "And maybe a couple of DVDs. I'll have something ready to eat by the time you get back."

It was all so very domesticated, Jack thought as he climbed back into his truck, and not remotely how he'd envisaged spending his evening when he had arrived back on Earth earlier that day. Still, at least life at the SGC could never be considered boring, and he had learned from long experience to be prepared for the unexpected.

What he wasn't prepared for when he returned home twenty minutes later was to find the front door ajar and a thin trail of blood leading down the driveway and into the house. Wishing he had a sidearm handy, he moved stealthily to the door and down the stairs into the den. What he saw stopped him dead.

Nefrayu was standing in the centre of the room, with his arms raised and crossed at the wrists and his eyes closed, as he swayed to and fro. On the coffee table in front of him was a motionless raccoon, blood leaking slowly from a wound in its side.

"Daniel!" Jack yelled, and Daniel immediately came running out of the kitchen. "What the hell...?"

Daniel's mouth dropped open and the spatula he was brandishing fell to his side as he took in the scene.

"Um..." he managed, but seemed unable to elaborate.

"Yeah, um," Jack said.

Before he could demand more of an explanation, though, Nefrayu's arms lowered until his hands were resting on the raccoon's body, and he opened his eyes, a slow smile spreading across his face. As soon as his fingertips touched fur, the animal scrabbled violently, leapt to its feet and set off across the room as if it was on fire.

Daniel cried out in alarm and darted in pursuit, while Jack attempted a pincer movement to herd the raccoon towards the front door. Several minutes of frantic activity ensued, with both animal and men colliding with furniture and each other until, eventually, they managed to get the raccoon out of the house. Jack closed the door firmly behind it, and turned back to see Nefrayu regarding him with open amusement.

"I don't know what you think is so funny," Jack growled, gesturing at the disarrayed furniture and the bloodstains on the carpet. "Look at this mess! What the hell happened anyway?"

Nefrayu had the sense to look somewhat abashed. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I couldn't let it die. It was a living creature and the Nox are sworn to protect all defenceless animals."

"But how did it end up on my coffee table?" Jack demanded.

"I was looking out of the window, waiting for you to come back," Nefrayu explained, "and I saw one of your Earth vehicles strike the animal and then drive away. So, I went outside to collect it and then performed the ritual of life to heal it."

Jack sighed heavily, wondering not for the first time what he'd let himself in for over the next few days.

"Okay, I guess I can't argue with that," he said. "But you should be careful, you know. Raccoons are wild animals and they often carry diseases. It didn't scratch you, did it?"

"No, Jack," Nefrayu said. "I do not believe it would have hurt me. It was just frightened by unfamiliar surroundings."

"No kidding," Jack murmured, then turned to Daniel.

"And where were you while this daring rescue was taking place?" he asked.

"I was in the kitchen, making the dinner," Daniel said. "Oh my god, the dinner!" he cried and ran back out of the room.

Jack crossed to the couch and sat down heavily. "Great job we're doing so far," he muttered.

By the time they had eaten the mostly salvaged dinner, cleaned up the den as best they could, and packed Nefrayu off to bed, Jack was so exhausted that he just wanted to sleep for a week. Daniel didn't seem any friskier, so they just got undressed and fell into bed.

"I have a feeling," Jack said, as he threw an arm over Daniel's chest, "that it's going to be a long couple of days."

XXXXX

The Mason Jar was a classic American restaurant in West Colorado Springs. Janet and Cassie were waiting for them when they got there and it surprised Jack, as it always did, just how grown up Cassie was. She had come a long way from the scared little girl they had rescued three years before; she was now tall and slender, with honey blonde hair and a confidence that came from knowing she was universally loved by all three adults in the party.

She greeted Jack and Daniel with a bright smile and a hug for each of them, then turned to Nefrayu in a friendly manner.

"Hey," she said. "You must be Nefrayu. I'm Cassie."

Nefrayu stared at her openly until Jack nudged him. "Um, hello," he said, suddenly shy.

He was wearing the same sneakers and pants as the day before, but had borrowed one of Jack's shirts, which was a little large on him and made him look slightly awkward. After the excitement of the previous evening, and in anticipation of their later outing, Jack had deposited him in front of The Discovery Channel for the morning, and he had eagerly lost himself in the strangeness of human culture.

Janet now rescued the Nox boy from his reaction to her daughter by hustling them all into the restaurant and finding them a table.

Nefrayu looked around in fascination at the groups of people, who were already seated and eating their lunch. When the waitress handed him a menu, he regarded it in confusion.

Daniel immediately started explaining how the menu worked and what all the different types of food were. Nefrayu's eyes grew wider and wider, and his mouth dropped open, causing Daniel to pause in mid-sentence.

"What's the matter?" he asked in concern.

"You eat animals?" Nefrayu said with evident horror.

Jack caught the startled eye of the waitress, who was coming over to take their drinks order, and held up a finger, mouthing, "One minute."

She nodded uncertainly and turned on her heel, retreating back the way she had come.

"Um, yes, we do," Daniel confirmed, a little hesitantly.

Jack thought back to their time on the Nox world and remembered how they had been presented with a vast array of fruit to eat, but nothing else. Given their peaceful nature and protectiveness towards fauna, he supposed it fit that they would be strict vegetarians.

Nefrayu looked distinctly nauseous. "What did we eat last night?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"Oh, don't worry," Daniel reassured him, immediately. "We didn't have time to go shopping after being offworld for so long, so there wasn't any meat in the house. Dinner was entirely animal-free, I promise."

Nefrayu heaved a sigh of obvious relief.

Jack perused the menu and noticed that it didn't exactly cater towards vegetarians. Even the salads were loaded with chicken and bacon.

Cassie looked across at Nefrayu sympathetically. "I was going to have a bacon cheese burger," she said, "but if you'd rather I didn't eat meat, I won't."

Jack had been looking forward to a juicy steak himself, so was delighted when the Cassie Effect evidently continued to exert its influence on their alien guest.

Nefrayu took a deep breath and visibly steeled himself against his discomfort.

"No, it's all right," he said. "I wouldn't want to stop you eating what you want. And I suppose it's all part of learning about what it means to be human."

Cassie gave him a dazzling grin, and he smiled shyly back.

"Okay, well, if that's settled," Jack said, and waved the waitress back over.

She took each of their orders in turn, leaving Nefrayu for last. He looked at her uncertainly for a moment, but Jack had it under control.

"He'll have the mozzarella, mushroom and onion ring platter, and a side salad," he said.

When the waitress had departed once more, Janet asked, "So, what's your plan for the rest of the day?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Jack said, brightly. "We were thinking it would be nice for Nefrayu and Cassie to spend some time together while he's here, so we figured maybe you could take them both somewhere educational, and then Nefrayu could stay over at your place tonight."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Janet immediately admonished. "I have work tomorrow, but you two have been given leave specifically to look after Nefrayu. You're not getting out of your obligations that easily. If you want to take Cassie off my hands for the night, though, I'd be delighted. You can drop her off at the mountain when you deliver Nefrayu back there tomorrow."

"Thanks, mom," Cassie said, sticking her tongue out. "Glad to know you treasure me so highly."

Jack exchanged a resigned glance with Daniel. So much for their fledgling plan to have the rest of their leave to themselves. He supposed it had been a bit too much to hope for.

Nefrayu was watching the interaction with interest.

"Do you not enjoy spending time with your children on Earth?" he asked earnestly. "None of you seem to want to supervise us."

"Oh no!" Janet exclaimed. "It's not like that at all. I will admit I like to have some time to myself on occasion, but I love Cassandra very much and would never want to give her up. And I'm sure the Colonel and Daniel didn't mean to suggest they aren't thrilled to have you staying with them. Did you, gentlemen?" She glared at them both sternly.

"Of course not!" Jack said. "I just thought you'd like to hang out with Cass. It's just as good for her to come to my place as for you to go to hers. As long as you're okay with that, Cassie."

"Sure," she said. "I don't have plans for tonight. It'd be fun."

The food arrived not long after, and Nefrayu regarded his with suspicion.

"Trust me," Jack said, indicating the deep fried cheese and vegetables. "No animals were harmed in the preparation of this meal. And you'll like it, I promise."

Nefrayu gingerly picked up one of the mozzarella sticks and bit off a mouthful. His expression quickly transformed from one of apprehension to one of extreme enjoyment.

"See?" Jack said. "Would I steer you wrong? Not everything about humans is bad, you know."

Nefrayu looked askance at the meat surrounding him on everyone else's plates, but refrained from commenting, too busy munching away.

Daniel turned to Cassie. "Where do you think we should take Nefrayu?" he asked her.

She considered for a moment. "The Garden of the Gods isn't far from here, and it's pretty spectacular if you're not used to the Colorado landscape. Or there's the zoo, or Canon Park."

Jack was impressed at her good judge of character. She had picked outdoor attractions that would appeal to someone who was used to being close to nature.

"The zoo might be a good plan for tomorrow," he said, "since it's on our way back to the mountain. We could pack a picnic and make a day of it, with Canon Park as a back-up if we run out of things to see."

"I know what we should do this afternoon," Cassie said, as if she'd just had a new thought. "We need to get Nefrayu a dog!" She gave Jack a cheeky grin. "All Earth children have to have one. It's a rule!"

Jack remembered how earnest she had been when he had presented her with a dog three years before and told her that fabricated rule. She had been very confused when she discovered it wasn't actually true, but had fallen in love with the dog by then and so wasn't bothered about the pretences under which she had agreed to take him. Now though, it seemed, she was preparing to take her revenge.

"What is a dog?" Nefrayu wanted to know.

"It's a type of animal that humans often keep as a pet," Daniel explained.

Jack saw Nefrayu's continued confusion. "Some people keep animals at their houses," he said.

"To eat?" Nefrayu looked worried.

"No, no," Daniel said hurriedly. "They look after them and consider them to be their friends."

Nefrayu's brow was furrowed. "Do these people also eat other animals?"

"Some of them do, yeah," Jack said, suppressing a smile at the boy's consternation.

He was reminded of all the questions Teal'c had asked him on his initial introduction to Earth customs. It was always interesting to see things from a completely outside viewpoint; it demonstrated just how crazy some of the things he took for granted really were.

"Don't worry about it," Cassie said with a shrug. "Humans are just weird. I bet we'd find some of the things the Nox do pretty strange, too. We should still get you a dog, though."

"Hang on a minute," Janet broke in, ever the voice of reason. "What if Lya and Antaeus won't let him take a dog home with him?"

"I'm sure they won't mind!" Nefrayu said brightly. "I think I would like a dog."

Jack looked daggers at Cassie, who stared back, the picture of innocence.

"I guess we'll see what we can do," he said, grudgingly.

After ice cream, another popular discovery with Nefrayu, Janet bid farewell to Cassie and left her in Jack's care.

"What will you do about overnight things?" she asked.

"It sounds like we're going to an animal shelter on the way home," Jack told her, "and we'll probably have to stop off at the mall to pick up a few things, anyway, so we can pick up some essentials for her there. Okay, kids," he continued once Janet had gone, "let's go shopping!"

XXXXX

It proved quite difficult to negotiate the mall with the two teenagers in tow. Nefrayu was fascinated by all the different products on sale, and Cassie was more than happy to encourage his curiosity by dragging him into various stores. They received confused looks from the store staff at Nefrayu's odd reactions, but eventually managed to purchase the items Cassie needed, and pick up food and a water bowl for the proposed dog. Then, they made their way to the animal shelter, where Jack had found the dog for Cassie a few years before.

The man at the reception desk looked up at their entrance, a slightly harried expression on his face.

"I'm about to close up for the day," he said, "so unless you've got a scheduled pick-up appointment…" He trailed off, clearly not interested in giving a tour to people who just wanted to coo over the cute animals.

Jack produced his military ID and flashed it, putting on his most authoritative demeanour. "We don't have an appointment, but we do need a dog. I've been here before, so you should have a record on file that I've already been cleared." He very much wanted to avoid the bureaucracy of home visits and background checks, since their time was limited, and the shelter obviously wouldn't be able to visit Nefrayu's home.

The man checked the shelter database and confirmed Jack's credentials, seemingly happy to let the usual process slide, given the time of day. He locked the front door to stop anyone else coming in, then led them through to where the animals were kept.

It was a large establishment, which housed all kinds of animals in cages lining the walls. They walked past rabbits, parrots, kittens, and various types of reptiles, while Nefrayu looked around in amazement.

"Why are they all imprisoned?" he wanted to know.

"They need to be kept in cages until someone comes to take them home," Daniel explained. "Otherwise, they'd run away."

"They do not wish to be pets?" Nefrayu asked.

"Um…" Daniel floundered, looking at Jack for help.

"They're animals, Nefrayu," Jack said. "They don't know what they want. They'll be very well looked after once someone takes them, and I'm sure they'll be very happy. They just have to wait a while until that happens. And the people here can't let them all run around loose – they'd make a mess.."

Nefrayu didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything more.

"One of our residents had a litter of puppies a few weeks ago," the man told them, leading the way to a particular cage. "Perhaps you'd like to take one of those."

The cage was filled with Beagle puppies, some curled up in a bundle at the back, others nosing around in search of new and exciting smells. Nefrayu surveyed the puppies carefully, evidently taking his choice very seriously. When he had considered each and every puppy in turn, he nodded and pointed.

"That one," he said.

The puppy he was indicating was bright-eyed and alert, standing up and peering out at him, tail wagging rapidly.

"Good choice," the shelter assistant said, opening up the cage and extracting the selected puppy.

He handed the puppy to Nefrayu, then took them back out front to complete the paperwork.

They emerged into the parking lot, with the assistant following close on their heels as he shut up the shelter for the night. Nefrayu clutched the puppy in his arms, while Jack and Daniel trailed behind, carrying everything else.

"What are you going to call him?" Cassie asked as they made their way back to the truck.

Nefrayu looked startled, then thoughtful.

"Jack?" he suggested tentatively.

"Perfect!" Cassie cried with a delighted laugh and a satisfied glance at the puppy's namesake.

Jack just glared back at her, while Daniel chuckled softly at his side.

They stopped off for groceries on the way home, and Cassie insisted on buying all sorts of snacks and sweets that she said it was essential for Nefrayu to try. Considering he was only going to be with them for one more night, Jack feared they would send him back several pounds heavier if he and Cassie managed to get through all the food.

They staggered down the driveway at the house, all laden down with food, puppy and multifarious additional purchases. Jack put down a bag of groceries to unlock the door, and opened it to reveal a scene of absolute chaos. There were animals everywhere, screeching on top of the bookcases, scampering along the hallways, and draped across the furniture. The noise and the stench were quite incredible, and Jack could see various deposits of unpleasant substances scattered over the floor.

"Nefrayu!" he bellowed. "What the hell is going on?"

The boy stepped up beside him, his expression unrepentant.

"You said they'd be happy if someone took them home," he said, matter-of-factly. "So I sent them to your home."

"Well, you can send them all right back again!" Jack practically yelled.

"Why?" came the defiant reply.

Jack wrestled his temper back under control and counted off the reasons on his fingers.

"First of all, because removing them from the shelter without officially adopting them is stealing. Didn't you learn your lesson on that score with the Tollan device? Secondly, because I can't look after a whole shelter's worth of critters, so they wouldn't be happy here anyway. Thirdly…"

"Uh, Jack?" Daniel's voice sounded from behind him.

He turned to see Daniel and Cassie still lined up on the driveway with their bags. Daniel looked weary, and Cassie had one hand over her mouth, though whether in horror or amusement at the situation, Jack couldn't tell.

"Can we at least go inside?" Daniel asked plaintively.

Jack deflated, picked up the groceries and ushered Nefrayu inside the house, Daniel and Cassie trailing behind them. They carefully negotiated their way through the menagerie, doing their best to avoid stepping in or on anything they shouldn't, and congregated in the kitchen, which seemed to be relatively creature-free.

Daniel busied himself putting things away, while Nefrayu and Cassie sat at the counter, and Jack squared up in front of them to continue his lecture.

"I know you don't understand or agree with a lot of things about Earth," he said to Nefrayu with a sigh, "but you can't just go around changing things to your own satisfaction without considering the consequences. What's going to happen when that guy turns up at the shelter tomorrow morning and discovers all the animals missing? Did you think about that at all?" He considered for a moment and decided to take the scenario to its most extreme conclusion, to make his point. "He calls the cops, they check the security cameras and see all the animals magically disappearing from their cages. Then they check the database and get my details as the last person to take an animal from the shelter. So, then I've got the police at my door, asking if I know anything about some missing animals – and it's not as if I can exactly hide them, now can I? So, I end up in jail and Hammond's got to explain how one of his officers had the power to transport a whole load of animals half-way across the city. And then where would we be?"

Nefrayu hung his head. He presumably didn't fully understand all the references, but it was obvious he had the gist of it.

"I – I didn't think…" he stammered.

"No, you didn't think," Jack went on, refusing to relent. "And now we're in one hell of a mess." He glanced back towards the den. "Literally as well as figuratively. Can you send them back from here?"

"Um, yes," Nefrayu said in a small voice.

"Then do it," Jack said sternly. "Right now."

Nefrayu scrambled off his stool and disappeared back into the main part of the house. Within a few moments, blessed silence descended once more.

Cassie looked towards the kitchen door, her eyes shining. "He's so cool!" she exclaimed.

Jack raised a finger at her. "Ah! Don't you start encouraging him. He's causing enough trouble without gaining a faithful sidekick."

She rolled her eyes at him, but didn't say anything when Nefrayu came back in.

"They're all gone," he said, despondently. "Apart from Jack. I can still keep him, right?"

It took human Jack a second to realise he was talking about puppy Jack. He looked at Nefrayu's face, and decided he couldn't be that mean. "Yes, you can keep the puppy," he said.

Then he walked to the kitchen door and looked out at the disaster area.

"Can you make all the mess disappear, too?" he asked hopefully, dreading the thought of having to spend the next few hours cleaning up seventeen kinds of shit.

"Um, I think so," Nefrayu said, and walked back out into the den.

Cassie jumped off her stool and crowded into the doorway with Jack to watch the show.

Nefrayu walked into the centre of the mess, closed his eyes and turned in a slow circle, swinging his arms in a wide arc as he pivoted. Everywhere his arms gestured, stains and piles of waste vanished from the floor and furniture, until the whole room gleamed. It was cleaner than Jack had ever seen it.

"Wow!" Cassie breathed. "That was amazing! Can you come home with me and do that to my room?"

She bounded out to join Nefrayu in the den, looking around in wonder at the sparkling surfaces.

Jack turned back to Daniel in the kitchen, and leaned heavily against the doorframe.

"The zoo is definitely out," he said firmly.

Cassie picked a movie for them to watch over dinner, deciding to introduce Nefrayu to Disney's Tarzan as a good accompaniment to the day's animal rights activities. Nefrayu was transfixed throughout, barely paying attention to his food, except when Cassie pressed him to try some popcorn or chips.

Afterwards, Nefrayu's mess-vanishing skills proved useful in dealing with (the puppy) Jack's lack of house-training.

When it came time to assign bedrooms, Jack came to the realisation that, not only would sex not be an option, but that he would actually be separated from Daniel entirely for the night. Janet was one of the few people who was aware of their relationship, but they hadn't told Cassie, in case it put her in a difficult position, so it would be impossible for them to share a room without raising her suspicions. In actual fact, since Jack only had two spare rooms, Daniel ended up sleeping on the couch, something he seemed less than pleased with, judging by the glares he threw Jack's way as he was arranging his pillows.

The whole situation was just getting better and better.

XXXXX

The following morning, they all got up in a leisurely fashion. Jack and Daniel took advantage of their free morning and teenage laziness to enjoy breakfast together, then started thinking about what to pack for their picnic. They had to break off part way through to show Nefrayu how to use the shower, but eventually everyone was ready to go.

The drive up to Canon Park was very pretty, and the weather was on their side – bright and sunny, but not too hot. They parked up and took a stroll around the Starsmore Discovery Center, where Cassie took on the role of tour guide, pointing out all the interesting information to Nefrayu and explaining when he didn't understand things. By the time they got into the park proper and identified a suitable spot to use as their base camp, it was lunchtime. Daniel spread a blanket on the grass and they all enjoyed the experience of eating outdoors.

After they'd had enough to eat, Cassie took the frisbee Jack had found in the back of his closet and went off to teach Nefrayu how to use it, with Jack the puppy following on their heels and trying to join in.

Jack stretched out on the blanket next to Daniel and looked up at the perfect cotton candy clouds that punctuated the blue of the sky.

"I could get used to this," he said.

"Yeah," Daniel murmured drowsily. "Makes a nice change from the rest of Nefrayu's visit so far."

Jack glanced at his watch. "Just a few more hours to go," he said, "and we can give him back."

The next thing he knew, someone was shaking his shoulder urgently. He cracked his eyes open, momentarily blinded by the sunshine, and saw Daniel leaning over him, with a worried expression on his face.

"We must have fallen asleep," Daniel said. "And now the kids have disappeared."

Jack scrambled to his feet and scanned the immediate surroundings. There were couples and family groups spread all over the open area, but no sign of Cassie or Nefrayu.

"Dammit," he muttered. "Where the hell could they have gone?"

They asked a couple of the nearest groups of people if they'd seen the two teenagers and their puppy, and determined the general direction the youngsters had taken. As they jogged in pursuit, raised voices drifted towards them from the vicinity of an open air pavilion up ahead, and they increased their speed.

There was a small crowd of people gathered around the pavilion, many holding placards and banners that identified them as protesters at some kind of peace rally. At the foot of the steps leading up into the pavilion, a harassed-looking cop had Nefrayu by the arm and was haranguing him. Cassie stood fearfully to one side, the puppy clutched in her arms.

"Colonel O'Neill, US Air Force," Jack announced, brandishing his ID as he pushed his way through the crowd. "What seems to be the problem here?"

The cop looked over at him in irritation. "Nothing the military need be concerned with, sir," he said.

"I'm afraid that's where you're mistaken," Jack replied calmly, but with authority. "This boy is under my supervision, so I'd appreciate it if you'd release him."

"I'd say you need to supervise him a bit more carefully, then," the cop retorted, tightening his grip on Nefrayu's arm. "I have reason to believe he stole my gun, and he has proven uncooperative under questioning."

"He's the son of a foreign diplomat," Jack told him, thinking quickly, "and his English isn't good." He flashed a warning glare at Nefrayu, hoping the boy would take the hint and keep quiet. "I'm sure there's just been some kind of misunderstanding. His entire family are strict pacifists, so I find it very difficult to believe he would take a gun."

"Pacifists? Huh," the cop snorted, then gestured with his free hand at the protesters. "That's what I thought about this lot, too. But then two of them started a fight and it was when I was trying to break it up that I realised my gun was missing. This little punk was lurking around suspiciously and refused to answer my questions."

"So, you didn't actually see him take it," Daniel interjected. "And you're basing your accusation on the fact that he didn't respond when you interrogated him? As my colleague has already told you, he doesn't speak English, so I'm sure he's just as confused about the situation as you are."

The cop was starting to look a little worried, but clearly wasn't prepared to back down yet.

"But he was the only one close enough to have taken it," he protested.

"He doesn't have it on him now, does he," Jack stated rather than asking.

"Um, no," the cop admitted. "But stealing a firearm is a very serious offence, and I'm not prepared to let this go."

"Excuse me?" Cassie spoke up in a small voice. "I've been here the whole time, and I think I remember seeing you put your gun in your car earlier." She pointed to a police cruiser parked behind the pavilion.

"Not likely," the cop scoffed. "Why would I do a thing like that?"

"I don't know," Cassie said with consummate innocence, "but it would be easy enough for you to go and check, wouldn't it?"

The cop looked exasperatedly between Cassie, Jack and Daniel, and at last let go of Nefrayu's arm. The boy immediately crossed to Jack's side and let out a stream of incomprehensible syllables, playing up his apparent distress and confusion. Daniel responded with a similar-sounding speech, establishing his role as the foreign boy's interpreter. Jack was regarding the cop with a level gaze, while secretly wondering how long they could keep up this increasingly elaborate charade.

The cop stabbed a finger in Nefrayu's direction. "You stay right there," he ordered, then jogged the few steps to his cruiser. He unlocked the door, rummaged around inside for a moment, and then returned with his gun in his hand, looking even more suspicious than before. He glared at Cassie. "I don't know how you're involved in all this, missy," he said, "or how either one of you managed to hide my gun in the car, but don't think just because I've got it back that one or other of you isn't still in serious trouble."

"I don't see how you can suddenly start accusing this young lady of being involved," Daniel said. "And the young man is protected by diplomatic immunity, so you wouldn't be able to press charges, even if you had any viable evidence against him, which you don't."

The cop sighed heavily. "I really don't have time for this," he huffed. "How about this? Why don't the lot of you just get out of the park and never come back?"

"Fine by me!" Jack said brightly. "Come on, kids, let's go." He herded his little group together and marched them rapidly away from the pavilion in the direction of the park exit.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the protest crowd, Nefrayu and Cassie both launched into an indignant explanation.

Jack raised a finger and cut them off. "Ah! I don't want to hear it. This little field trip is over. We're going straight back to the mountain, and none of us are leaving until Lya and Antaeus come to retrieve this reprobate. He's clearly a hopeless case."

"Actually, Jack," Daniel said, his brow creased in consternation, "I'd like to understand what happened."

"Fine," Jack said, "but let's just get off park property first, just in case."

They all piled into the truck and Jack sped out of the park gates and onto the road to Cheyenne Mountain.

Once they were a fair distance away, Daniel swivelled in his seat and regarded Nefrayu solemnly. "I thought Jack and I had both made it clear to you that you mustn't use your abilities to make things disappear on Earth, and I thought you'd understood why."

"I did!" Nefrayu protested. "But this time was different!"

"Yeah, yeah," Jack muttered. "It's always going to be something with you."

"No, he's right, Jack," Cassie spoke up. "It was different this time."

"How?" Daniel asked gently. "Explain it to us."

"There was a man making a speech about how violence is wrong, and people should band together to stop those in charge from fighting wars," Nefrayu said. "I thought I had finally found some humans I could understand, so I stopped to listen. But one of them started disagreeing loudly with the man on the stage, and another of them grew angry with him, and the first man hit him. They were fighting, and the man in the uniform tried to make them stop. He reached for his weapon, so I made it disappear, so he couldn't hurt them."

Jack could see Cassie nodding in the rear view mirror, corroborating Nefrayu's story.

"I was standing nearby and he grabbed me, demanding to know what I had done with his weapon, and that's when you turned up," Nefrayu continued. "I wasn't sure what to do, but then Cassie said about the man putting the weapon in his vehicle, so I made it reappear there so he would find it. That was really clever," he said to Cassie. "Thank you."

"I don't think anything any of us has done in the last two days could be considered clever," Jack remarked. "But yeah, Cass, you did manage to pull us all out of the fire on that one. As for you," he glared at Nefrayu in the mirror, "I'm going to be delighted to hand you back to your folks in a couple of hours. I seriously doubt a cop would have shot someone at a peace rally."

"I had no way of knowing that," Nefrayu protested stubbornly, "so I acted to protect those in danger."

"As I said earlier," Jack groused. "Hopeless case. Now," he continued darkly, "can we all agree that the details of what has transpired in the last two days stay between us? I don't think there's any need for Hammond or Lya, or Carter or Frasier for that matter, to know anything about rampaging animals or disappearing firearms, do you?"

All three of the other occupants in the truck shook their heads solemnly.

"Good," said Jack.

XXXXX

General Hammond and Janet met them in the briefing room when they arrived at the mountain.

"How did it go, Colonel?" Hammond asked. "Any trouble?"

"No trouble at all, sir!" Jack announced expansively. "We bought a puppy, went to the park, time flew because everyone was having fun. Piece of cake."

Hammond looked round at Jack's three silent companions a little suspiciously, but evidently decided not to press the subject.

"Good," he said, then looked at his watch. "You're back a little early, but I guess that's better than keeping the Nox waiting. Carry on." He disappeared into his office.

"Why do I get the impression there's more to this story than you're letting on?" Janet asked. She levelled her gaze at Cassie. "You didn't cause Daniel and the Colonel any problems, did you, sweetheart?"

"Of course not, Mom," Cassie said brightly. "We all had a lot of fun."

Janet looked up at Nefrayu, Jack and Daniel, who all nodded vigorously.

"Okay," she said, sounding less than convinced. "I've got a bit more work to do before I can leave." She looked at Cassie and asked, "Do you mind hanging around for a bit?"

Cassie shook her head. "I'd like to stay and see Nefrayu off," she said.

There followed what Jack could only describe as a blessedly peaceful hour, in which he snoozed at the briefing room table, while Cassie and Nefrayu played quietly with the puppy and Daniel read a book he had retrieved from his office. Jack's inner musings on what he was planning on doing to Daniel when they finally got home were eventually broken by the offworld activation siren, and the four of them made their way to the gate room in time to see a wormhole establish and Lya step through.

Hammond joined them at the foot of the ramp. "Greetings, Lya, and welcome back to Earth," he said formally.

She inclined her head towards him, and then focused her gaze on Nefrayu, who stood nervously in his human clothes, holding the puppy in his arms.

"Your hair!" she exclaimed immediately, and Nefrayu ducked his head self-consciously.

Jack held his breath as Lya stepped forwards and ran her hand curiously over Nefrayu's shorn locks. She considered for a moment, then said, "I think I like it."

The atmosphere in the room lightened perceptibly.

Lya then seemed to notice the puppy for the first time. "What is this?" she asked.

"This is Jack," Nefrayu responded proudly. "He is a dog." His tone turned pleading. "Can I bring him home with us?"

Lya turned to the adults and questioned, "Whose idea was this?"

As one, Jack and Daniel pointed to Cassie, who glared at them for their betrayal as Lya's attention turned to her.

"Then I thank you, young one," Lya said. "It will be good for Nefrayu to be responsible for another living creature, and interesting for the rest of us to witness the growth of an animal from Earth."

Cassie threw Jack and Daniel a triumphant grin.

Lya turned back to Nefrayu. "What have you learned?" she asked him.

"That many humans are violent and cruel," Nefrayu said. He glanced at Jack. "And all of them are contradictory."

"Hey!" Jack protested. "I resemble that remark!"

"Can we go home now, please?" Nefrayu asked.

"No," Lya replied. "First we must go to Tollana so that you may atone for your actions."

Nefrayu deflated, but obediently followed Lya up the ramp towards the gate. Lya paused before the threshold, turned to face the spectators and slowly raised her arms above her head. As they moved upwards, a wormhole materialised behind her.

"That never gets old," Jack murmured to Daniel, who grinned his agreement. "Come back any time," he called to the Nox, adding for Nefrayu, "and good luck with the Tollans."

"Bye, Nefrayu!" Cassie said, and Nefrayu gave her a wave.

Then the Nox were gone, and the wormhole collapsed behind them.

Jack immediately turned to Hammond. "I know SG-1 have a mission scheduled for tomorrow morning, sir," he said, "but we're still on leave for tonight, aren't we?"

"Yes, Colonel, you are," Hammond confirmed.

"I'll be off home then," Jack said. "Daniel, can I give you a lift? See you, Cass!" he called over his shoulder as he hustled Daniel out of the gate room.

They fled the base as quickly as possible and Jack drove almost dangerously fast down the mountain. They reached his house in record time and tumbled in. Within a few minutes, they were back in the same positions they'd been in when Nefrayu had made his first appearance.

"Alone at last," Daniel breathed, looking down into Jack's eyes.

Jack was just about to respond by pulling his archaeologist down into his arms, when he felt an odd movement along his side.

"Uh, Daniel…" he began.

"No, Jack," Daniel said firmly. "No more distractions." Then he froze suddenly as he evidently felt something strange, too.

They rolled in opposite directions off the bed, letting out simultaneous yelps as they hit the floor, then scrambled to their knees and met each other's gaze across the rumpled bed clothes.

Lying on the sheet between them was a large snake.

"Dammit, Nefrayu!" Jack wailed.

THE END


End file.
